On suicide: Destigmatizing the word

Words in the English language are weird. They can make our spirits soar to great heights or crash into the lowest of lows. Some words like ‘happiness’ or ‘joy’ can quickly put a smile on our faces, while there are other words that no one wants to hear, acknowledge, or discuss. Maybe it’s too awkward, painful, or just plain uncomfortable a word for people to invite into their lives, so we all ignore it and hope it doesn’t find its way into our world.

One such word is suicide.

In Alaska we have the unfortunate distinction of being one of the nation’s leaders in death by suicide, second only to Wyoming by a very slim margin. While we have moved from the top state in suicides to No. 2, it’s not because we are bringing numbers down in Alaska — it is sadly that death by suicide has risen across the country. In Alaska suicide is the fifth-leading cause of death. It is the no. 1 cause of death in people age 15-34 and the second leading cause in people age 35-54.

Suicide. It’s troubling, and we hope someone, somewhere, is addressing the problem, because it’s just too painful for us to think about.

Despite efforts to curtail suicide in Alaska, we continue to lose friends, co-workers, and family members to this dreaded word. Maybe it’s time to try another approach to resolving this heartbreaking “disease,” the one that tears at our hearts and souls, and yet we can’t bring our minds to mention, let alone discuss. We’ve all learned the hard way going through life that problems that are ignored, not acted on, don’t simply go away — they come back repeatedly, often when we least expect it. Maybe it IS time for us to acknowledge this beast, this dragon that goes by the name of suicide, and defeat it.

We at the Mat-Su Coalition for Suicide Prevention believe suicide IS preventable with the help of each and every one of us. Since suicide is a community problem that has touched many of our lives, we would like the Mat-Su community to rally together with us to support efforts to educate as many members of the community as possible to reduce the risk of Alaskans taking their lives. The Alaska Trauma Center, in partnership with the Mat-Su Coalition for Suicide Prevention, is gearing up for the 2016 Suicide Prevention Awareness Symposium, scheduled for June 7-10 at the Palmer Depot and the Mat-Su Regional Outpatient Center. This symposium offers training on suicide prevention, intervention and “post-vention,” and is open to the public. Our hope is that by educating a team of community members about risk factors, along with signs and symptoms, we will raise awareness of this preventable cause of death in Alaska.

At last year’s 1st Annual Suicide Awareness Symposium, we were fortunate to have Adam Lesser, the Deputy Director for the Center for Suicide-Risk Assessment at Columbia University, present to Alaska the Columbia Suicide Severity Risk Scale (C-SSRS). The C-SSRS has proven to reduce suicide rates as well as reduce overcrowding in the mental health care system and is provided by Columbia University at no charge for the training for this tool, as well as any assistance needed for implementing the C-SSRS. Deputy Director Lesser will join us again in presenting the C-SSRS tool to attendees at this year’s symposium. These classes are college level sources with accredited contact hours.

The Suicide Symposium is being offered free of cost to the community and we are urging businesses and individuals to join in our efforts to prevent suicides in Alaska by helping us fund this 2nd Annual Suicide Awareness Symposium. An account has been established at www.gofundme.com/https-aktrauma. Fully funded, we will be able to provide training for 100 members of the Alaskan community who will, in turn, be able to share this valuable life-saving information with others in Alaska.

The full story of the Suicide Awareness Symposium and how it came to be can be found be found on Facebook on the community page titled “Suicide Awareness Symposium.” It was written by CynDee Jenkins, Administrator for the Alaska Trauma Center and Director of the Mat-Su Coalition for Suicide Prevention, who brought the Suicide Symposium to the Mat-Su Valley to introduce suicide awareness to the community and thereby break the frightening hold the word “suicide” has held over us for far too long. We’re Alaskans. By our very nature we’re tough because we need to be, and standing together to fight suicide, we can and WILL make a difference. In the words of Mother Theresa, “Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin.”

For more information or to register for this symposium, please email us at secretary-symposium@gmail.com.

Sharen Rockefeller is a volunteer for the Mat-Su Coalition for Suicide Prevention. This column is the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman or its parent company, Wick Communications.